PROMO BEGIN:
You can imagine what it would feel like to feel pleasure beyond anything you've ever felt before. You can imagine everything that goes on throughout our minds, everything that we dream about and every single thing that we think about, sometimes every hour we're awake.
We never stop dreaming, we never stop thinking, and through everything we endure, through all of the hardships we face, there is always hope, there is always the dreams that we hold so dear in all of out lives. All of those thoughts that bubble up inside our head, that space where we keep all of our aspirations, all of it is simply thought, simply thousands and thousands of little words that spin through your head.
You can always imagine what that feeling of fulfilling those words that spin through your head would feel like, how reaching the complete pinnacle of your dreams and aspirations would be the very closest thing for complete and total happiness. To even get close to that pinnacle of pleasure would be a once in a lifetime opportunity, would be an absolute and total fulfillment of your life.
And the closest thing to that pinnacle of pleasure, is getting inside that squared circle, pinning your opponent to the mat on one of the biggest stages of them all and holding that World title high in the air, the total symbol of complete and total power in professional wrestling, the one proof that you are indeed the best there is, the best there ever was, and the best there ever will be.
Whenever i get that feeling, the feeling of being on top of the mountain, the feeling that I have done everything in my power to make sure I am the best wrestler in the world, to make sure that there is nobody who can stand in my way of becoming the best.
Of course, that's what the world of professional wrestling is centered upon. Reaching the pinnacle of all of your training, all of your effort and hard work, and in the modern world of wrestling, all of the back-stabs, sneak attacks and deception that seems to accompany a rise to the top, is the ultimate goal for any professional wrestler. Sure, there are so many other things that accompany that shiny gold belt, but at the end of the day, of the forty people backstage, thirty-nine of them are gunning for that World title belt.
The only person that isn't gunning for that belt is the person who is already holding it, and i plan for that to be me.
At the end of Monday, there will be no more people gunning for that belt, there will be no more challengers for the NYCCW World title, because at the end of Monday, when the bell rings, i will be standing tall as the final holder of that prestigious piece of gold, that beautiful piece of metal that goes so well around my waist.
Because holding that title so high in the air, hoisting it above your head and looking out at the rest of the world knowing that you have done everything physically possible to win, everything you could to make sure you came out the victor, is the closest thing to ultimate pleasure that one can truly feel.
That is of course, unless you are somebody like Johnny Clash.
Sure, he can win titles. Sure he can become the face of a company, and yet, none of it can even come close to becoming triumphant, truly victorious, because when you're somebody like Johnny Clash, and you use cheap tactics and foul play to win titles, you can never truly be called a champion.
Johnny, you won that title from Raven in what was one of the greatest matches in NYCCW history. You fought all the hardships, you made it through the toughest of times and you won fairly and without any interference from anybody else. And then you turned to the dark side. You chose cheating over wrestling. Because what you do, Johnny, is not wrestling, it disgraces the very name of professional wrestling. What you are, is simply a rat.
You're a rat who leeches off others. You're a rat who doesn't know when it's going to get it's face pounded in, and eventually, it WILL happen. Also unfortunately for you, that time is coming on Monday. Because when you square off against me Johnny, you will finally have that rat face kicked into oblivion, and after that happens, i will finally be able to look into your eyes and tell you that i am the better man, better wrestler, and better champion.
This Monday, I will prove that i am the best.
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"So, about that interview?"
I lie back on the bed and laugh to myself, wrapping my arm around Kelly's shoulder and pulling her close as i step out of the shower, planting a kiss on her forehead as we step into the living room. I pull open the fridge and pick up two cans of VB with one hand, turning and throwing one to Kelly. She catches it with a small amount of surprise and studies the green layer that surrounds the beer can, before looking back up at me with a bemused face.
"What?"
"Victorian Bitter?" She asks, questioning my choice of alcohol.
"Yeah, it's pure quality. Gotta be Australian babe, it just gotta be." I say, enforcing my heavy Aussie accent. I'd been in this country for three years, and almost every American i met thought of me as "weird". As if being from the Land down Under made me somehow alienated.
"Oh i'm sure." She says, pulling the cap on the can and pulling the small hole open, letting the noise of the fizzing echo throughout the small kitchen as she raises the can to her lips. "Hey, this isn't half bad."
"Told ya babe. Gotta have Aussie when it comes to alcohol." I turn and crack open my can as i sit down on the leather couch. Stretching my arms out wide, Kelly joins me on the couch as i flick the sixty-inch flat-screen TV onto Main Event - the channel where all PPV events are aired, and sit back as i watch the program fittingly titled "Putting It All On The Line", the hype program for MPW High Stakes, which is being aired tomorrow.
The current topic being discussed by a small black-haired man in a suit - obviously a wrestling presenter hired by Main Event - is the Battle Royal for the Number one contender's spot for the North American Championship., currently held by Aiden Caine.
"Bliss, Chris Michaels, Freddie Styles, Roxi Johnson, Sonja Lickinova and Jeff Mouland are all looking on they're A-Game as they fight out what will surely be a grueling Battle Royal to decide who will face Aiden Caine for his North American title. The man in question - Mr. Caine himself, is going to be participating in the Roll of the Dice match, and after his intense in and out of the ring rivalry with Rage, we're sure to see some bad blood there. Accompanying the two are Enigma, John Fisherman, Kurt Newman, and Bloodhound. This is undoubtedly going to be the biggest match in MPW history. The man behind it is Mr. Bill Adams, the General Manager of MPW, and he is going to be fighting it out in his own match against Shawn Hall, the CEO of Millennium Pro Wrestling. We've seen some words spilled between these two, and we all know how much MPW could change through the outcome of this match."
I look away for a moment to take another swig of beer, and out of the corner of my eye i see the notepad and tape recorder move from the table into the lap of Kelly. As she sets up the recorder she turns to me, ignoring the rest of what the guy on the TV is saying.
"So, you ready for this interview?" She asks, putting the beer can down. To my surprise, it's empty.
"Not half bad huh?"
"What can I say, i'm a sucker for Australian beer." I laugh, turning to face Kelly and getting myself in a more comfortable position as she presses the small red button on the tape recorder. Funny, i didn't think they were used anymore, but then again, if it ain't broke, don't fix it.
"So, how are you reacting to all the speculation going on about your match at High Stakes? There have been a lot of words said between you and Johnny, and members of the wrestling press are having their fair share of opinions expressed as well."
I smile. "Hmph, all of this speculation is exactly what you said. Opinion. Since when has opinion ever won a fight? The only thing that can make you win inside that wrestling ring is action. Pure skill, pure intensity and pure fighting is what gets you through a match inside that squared circle, hell it's what gets you through most things in this life. I realize people want to feel significant by expressing what they think, and there's nothing wrong with that. I'm constantly being told i should keep my mouth shut, and yet i don't, do I?"
"The only thing that will get me that NYCCW World Heavyweight Championship is action. The only thing that will lead to me pinning Johnny Clash's body to the mat is action. And you can be damn sure that the only thing that will lead to me kicking Johnny so hard in the face the lights inside his brain will fade to black, is action. Speculation is speculation, opinions are opinions, none of it will help me, or hinder me this Monday. So in response to your question, i am not reacting, simple as that."
"Okay, so what about your opponent, Mr. Johnny Clash? You two go a long way back, as you've expressed in your promos, and it seems to be that this bout is going to be more than just a fight to see who retires a defunct title."
I grin once more, knowing those words to be exactly true. There is so much more going on inside that ring than just mere squabbling for a piece of gold - the title's just there to prove the outcome.
"Johnny Clash, Johnny Clash, Johnny Clash. Whenever i hear that name, a part of my brain immediately sparks into life. It's the part of the brain that brings about so much pain and anguish, so much suffering - it's that little voice in the back of my head that seems to have all that control over me."
"It's been well documented that i have, as doctors like to call it: "Mental Health Issues", but to them i say that it's not an issue, it never has been. Without the little voice inside my head i wouldn't be where I am now, i wouldn't be inside that ring, fighting what will be one of the greatest bouts in my short career. You see, the voice, the little voice in the back of my head sparks to life every time i think of how many times i've been attacked from behind, all of the times i've had Johnny spit in my face, and all of the times that i've had him spoil my in-ring career."
"It comes to life every time i think back to the third week in MPW, when he came out and publically unveiled all of my so-called "crimes" that i committed in NYCCW. The very words that seemed to pierce my skin, shake my very being; the voice springs to life every time i feel him spitting in my face, telling me that i'm a nobody, that i'm a failure."
"And when this voice springs to life, it doesn't make me feel angry, or upset, or sad, or even make me want to seek vengeance. The voice in my head tells me to do one thing, and one thing only, and that's be the Punk. Because when i'm the Punk, and i step into that ring and go face to face with Johnny Clash, there is no history, there is no bad blood, and there is no outside interference. There is simply me, and him, and then there's me pinning him to the mat.....1....2......3."
I realize that Kelly is looking down at my hands, and when i look down i also realize that i'm bleeding from my palms where my fingernails have dug into the skin. I must have been clenching my fists pretty hard.
"It's fine, i do that sometimes." I say, pressing my hand onto the white dressing gown so that the blood stops flowing. "Continue."
She seems hesitant for a moment before she decides to continue the interview.
"Okay, so what about the World title scene? You've obviously been watching that very carefully, just like everybody else in MPW has. What are your thoughts?"
"As far as i'm concerned, there's only one World title that matters to me right now, and that's the one that i'll be walking home with tonight - The NYCCW World title. Jackson and Trey can wait. But rest assured, it'll be in my sights soon enough, and whoever the champ is, whether it be Jackson Blaze with his cheating or Trey Baxter proving that he is indeed the best in the world, i will make sure to prove to them that i am the Technical Messiah of professional wrestling, and that there is nobody in the world who is the Punk, except for me."
"And going back to your match, how does the history play into this match, as well as the recent events transpiring with Johnny Clash?"
"Well, if you're referring to the trip "Down Unda" that Johnny went on, i can safely say that there is nothing else in the world that has made me laugh more than seeing him try to be seduced by my mom. That right there was quality television."
Kelly looks a little taken aback. "But...it was your family, and he just walked in and....."
"Kelly, let me make one thing very clear to you. I HATE my family. I wish i had never been born into that pile of screwed up genetics and mosh pit of money, greed and violence. My father was a dickhead, my mother was an alcoholic and my older brother was a thug. The only person that mattered to me in that family was my sister, and i haven't seen her in two years, ever since i left the AWA. So don't go on about how much he disrespected me by barging into my old house and talking to my mother, because frankly, he can do what he wants with that old bag."
"You're mother mentioned your father was visiting..."
"Yeah, he visited me a month ago, between the transition from NYCCW to MPW. And you know what he said to me when he showed up? He asked me how life as a glorified boxer was going for me. Kelly, words cannot tell you how much i hate that man, and how much i never want to see his alcohol infested face again."
As i look up, speaking those words with a cold, unforgiving tone but bot even raising my voice above a whisper, i see, for the first time, a look in Kelly's eyes that i saw in so many others. Alyssa, Reanna - My sister, My father, my doctors, hell, even people out on the street who only know my face. That look on there faces, the look of pure fear.
I don't move my head, only my eyes, as i look up at Kelly, and from her eyes i can tell she's summing me up, trying what to make of me and whether or not to judge me as a psychopath.
I look down again and she clears her throat, trying to release the tension that fills the very air between us.
"I know you're scared of me, Kelly. I know that everybody is scared of me, even the people i meet inside that ring. Every single person gets a glint of fear in their eyes every time i step into that ring and the voice seeps into my mind. Every time they look into these eyes..." I motion to my bright blue eyes.
"Every single time, and it's not the sort of fear that makes you feel unsure, make you uneasy. No, it's the type of fear that make thoughts run through your mind, because i know that they fear me because they have no clue what i am about to do. Not in terms of wrestling, not even in terms of tactics, no in terms of the way i move, the way i breathe. And do you know why Johnny Clash is the fiercest competitor i've ever met?"
I await her answer, and she simply shakes her head.
"It's because he's the only man that doesn't fear me."
She places the notepad down and presses stop on the recording.
"Well, i think i've got enough on here for an excellent article." I can tell she's nervous, the way she's moving her hands and the small shivers that i can see running through her bare arm. "Thank you for everything, Drake, i appreciate it."
Out of my trance, i stand up, the blood soaked dressing gown still draped over my body.
"No problem." I say, " Make sure you're watching tomorrow night when i wipe the floor with Johnny." I give my signature smile, relieving the tension from her body. As she gets close to the door she opens it, stepping out into the cool morning air that blows throughout the corridor. "Well, i guess i'll see you round, huh?"
"Yeah, i guess."
"You'll call tomorrow, won't you?"
"Yeah, of course. Tomorrow, i'll make sure of it." She presses her lips against my cheek as she moves off, and i close the door.
"I'll call you tomorrow...." I whisper to myself. "Yeah right."
Turning back towards the TV, i see a picture of a woman that i have not seen for a while - not since she departed MPW, and me, some weeks ago.
"Electra Stevens is said to be the newest romance of Aiden Caine," The short black haired man says. "The two have been talking to each other through twitter, and although none of it has been confirmed, it is widely speculated that the two are a couple."
The image of Lexi walking on a beach is shown, and as it gets a close up of her face, i switch the TV off, not wanting to think of everything i've lost in my life, including the only woman i've ever been with who hasn't looked into my eyes and seen a monster.
*Not now Drake, now you have to concentrate, now it's time for you to go out there and show the world why you're the Punk.*
The voice is right. Right now there is only one thing, there is only one purpose. Beating Johnny Clash and holding that title high in the air, knowing that finally....
I Am Triumphant.